The present invention relates to a new and distinct hybrid cultivar of Medinilla plant, botanically known as Medinilla magnifica, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘ROYAL TWIST’. The genus of Medinilla belongs to the Melastomataceae family.
The new Medinilla ‘ROYAL TWIST’ is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventors, Elly Black and Nico D. M. Steur, in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The seed parent is the Medinilla selection designated ‘82347005’ (unpatented). The pollen parent is the Medinilla selection designated ‘82341131’ (unpatented). The objective of the breeding program was to produce a new Medinilla variety with a good growing habit and an attractive inflorescence. The crossing was made in 2008.
‘ROYAL TWIST’ was discovered and selected by the inventors in 2010, as a single flowering plant, at a research greenhouse in Assendelft, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new Medinilla magnifica ‘ROYAL TWIST’ by vegetative means by terminal shoots was first performed in 2013 Assenfeldt, the Netherlands. Subsequent propagation has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.